


A Thousand Stars (In a Dark Sky)

by naity_sama



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coping, Fluff, M/M, Minor Character Death, PTSD, Ratings may change, Typical Winter Soldier Activities, graphic description of violence, probably sex, prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-24
Updated: 2014-09-24
Packaged: 2018-02-18 15:04:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2352629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naity_sama/pseuds/naity_sama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quick one-shots based on some prompts and ideas from tumblr or loosely based around song lyrics.</p><p>Will be primarily Stucky and Stony themed, with some explicit chapters, fluff, PTSD and other things.</p><p>Chapter 1: {Stony} The Fog Rolls In (My Breath Rolls Out)<br/>Chapter 2: {Stucky snippets} Having Waited This Long Over Winter<br/>Chapter 3: {Bucky} The Winter Skater</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. {Stony} The Fog Rolls In (My Breath Rolls Out)

Somewhere deep in the distance there's a trickle of water echoing over rough stone. The sound is barely audible over the soft scuffing of booted feet. Its surprisingly warm beneath the earth, humidity thick in the air as the wetness clinging to the rock all around glimmers like stars in the flickering torchlight. Each breath is heavy with minerals and something distinct to the bowels of the earth. When they stop at the lip of the chasm, the glow of the light barely extends into the void. Its like standing at the edge of the Earth and leaning out into space, all the weight of nothing holding you up. There's something beautiful about it. Steve lets his eyes slip shut to take it all in. And then Stark opens up his god-damned mouth and ruins the moment.

“I'm just saying, we could have gotten there a _lot_ faster the other way. Show up in the middle of the day. Made an appointment with the guy's office instead of taking the creepy tunnel of doom to the back entrance.” Tony's grin is wan and pale where its framed by the armor, a trickle of sweat zigzagging its way out of his hairline and down his temple. His dark eyes dart from one side of the tunnel to the other, drifting back to the abyss and snapping back to his companion. The flashy red and gold of his armor is muted until Steve brings the torch around and Tony's suit gleams burnished metal as he holds his palms up. “Just saying.”

“Do you believe what you're saying?” Steve's frown is a pinched line between his brows and an irritated set to his lips. His freckles are lost in the poor lighting.

“Yeah. Right now, but not that often.” Tony glances around again and he shuffles a half-step closer to the man beside him. He takes a deep breath, but every time he closes his eyes he smells battery acid. He ignores Steve's expression and takes another good breath before skirting around to the edge of the gap. The flare he pulls from his hip hisses and he tosses it over the edge. It flares to life with a bright flash and drops like a rock, lighting up little more than the edge of the cliff closest to them. After about thirty seconds, it's dwindling spark of light winks entirely out of sight. They never hear it hit the bottom.

“How far...?”

“I don't even want to know. Probably a mile? One way ticket to Journey to the Center of the Earth. Can we go with Plan B now?” Steve is still looking down over the edge, at what, Tony can only guess. There's nothing down there but lots of empty. And probably some water. Water seems to be a theme here.

“No. Thor said we have to cross it.” Steve's mouth is set in a line of grim determination and Tony knows he's no getting out of this.

“Alright, Cap, saddle up. Iron Pony saves the day.” He tries for a lighthearted smirk, but it falls short of the mark. With a sigh, Tony steps up to Steve and wraps a gauntleted arm around the super soldier's waist. The blond braces his weight on Tony's feet grips a hard shoulder with one hand. They lift into the air and Tony hovers for a moment before he drops his faceplate and starts across. He would never admit to it out loud, but he feels a little better about flying into the darkness this time with Steve in his arms.


	2. {Stucky snippets} Having Waited This Long Over Winter

It's another beautiful day in the suburbs; car honks, dogs barks, children screaming, Bucky on the roof refusing to come down. Only after dark falls does he hesitantly creep through the window. Sam pops a cold plate in the microwave to heat as Steve mixes chocolate syrup into frosty milk. It's only when Nat puts a cheery red & white striped straw in the glass that Bucky sits at the table. His eyes aren't quite dead anymore, but he's got that terrified animal look. Nobody makes a sound.

The concept of napkins must have been lost years ago. He won't eat with a fork. They've found a middle ground where everything is in chunks easily speared by the point of a knife. Bucky's body is poised on the edge of flight, eyes warily watching Steve and Nat rinsing dishes. Before, he'd take the food and run. It's only recently that they can stay in the room, and only the last two days that they can move without scaring him off. Sometimes he sits outside the window and watches them watch TV.

\---

Bucky picks up bits and snippets of everyday life by watching TV. He doesn't always exactly understand everything he sees, but he tries. After an intense week of watching cooking shows with his eyes popped wide and staring, Bucky tries his hand at cooking. He's memorized recipes with frightening clarity, and he uses the blade of a knife with skilled accuracy. Surprisingly, he finds the gentle rocking of the blade soothing. The pleased faces and praise go a long way. Bucky learns to smile.

\---

Bucky doesn't understand why Sam laughs every time he stops to sniff a flower on their walk, until he does. He's got pollen on his nose and eyebrow, and Sam is bent over, hands on his thighs and laughing breathless. Bucky frowns, "When you said 'Take some time to smell the roses', you weren't being literal." Sam laughs harder, but he's grinning ear-to-ear when Bucky grabs a handful of petals and shoves them down the back of his shirt. It's progress.

\---

Steve's not going to lie, he's glad Bucky is doing things around the house. He's started helping with the dishes and he's cleaning up after himself. He remembers to throw a towel on the floor when he takes a shower and he sometimes even makes breakfast. He still prefers to sweep the floors because the vacuum is too loud, though. But this is a first. All Steve's clothes are neatly folded or hung in the closet, but anything white is now pink. When Nat comments, he only shrugs, "Still learning."

\---

Its been a year after Bucky found his way back to Steve, but sometimes he just has to get out; feels the urge to be somewhere outside, wind on his skin and a solid wall at his back. That's why they're sitting on the top of a skyscraper, surrounded by three feet of snow. Bucky still has issues about his arm, tries to avoid touching with it, tries to hide that he's doing it. It's quiet until Steve sees Bucky inch his arm away. When Steve jokingly grabs it and licks a finger, he doesn't expect it to stick.


	3. {Bucky} The Winter Skater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I honest-to-God do NOT know why this happened. I was drunk when I wrote this. 
> 
> *** There is death in this chapter and descriptions of blood and such. ***

The Winter Soldier has been given orders. He is to eliminate a mobster's son. The mark has a hobby for ice skating, and he's good at it. The Winter Soldier stakes out his target, learning his patterns. Learning from him. When the mark is alone, skating at night, the Winter Soldier prepares himself. He straps a pair of skates to his feet, his first steps onto the ice are unsteady and unpracticed, but his next are smooth and agile. He glides along the side of the pond, a whisper of shadow at the edge of sight. He comes abreast of the Mission easily, skates slicing over the ice taking him in front of the other man. The mark is surprised, but the Winter Soldier does not react. He faces his target, and for a moment, they skate together. The mark darts to the left and then to the right, but the Winter Soldier is always there, moving backwards in front of him, facing him as he tries to flee. The target skids to a stop, mouth open to query this new opponent. His words do not fall from his lips, for the Winter Soldier pirouettes, as deadly a dancer on the ice as he is with any other blade. His foot comes up, the sharp blade glittering in the moonlight as it completes its arc, and a dark gash opens across the mark's throat. The body falls to the ice, darkness pooling beneath it and sending tendrils of steam heavenwards.


End file.
